Speaking of sports...

[loraxc]

Just curious how you feel about your kids seeing sports or something like a tape of a staged ballet or staged play on TV. This is sort of a gray area for me, because I feel like it's not very dissimilar from actually watching such an event, only you don't have to go there and spend the money. But a lot of what I don't want about TV for DD is the calculated, scripted, focus-grouped, buy-buy-buy nature of stuff for kids. Of course, sports do have commercials.

We actually are not sports people, except that my husband is a Red Sox fan. Red Sox games are the only broadcast TV DD has ever seen. Really, I'm thinking about the Olympics. I love the Olympics. I'd like to watch some of it, and can't decide if they too need to be strictly adult-hours viewing. The hard part about sports is that you can't really tape them and watch them later, as you're likely to hear about the results before you can watch.

(Obviously, we do own a TV. The adults here are not TV-free, but very TV-limited.)

[MCsMom]

hmmm, I've never thought of it that way before. I guess it is because I DO think it is pretty different to go to the ballet/opera/game instead of watch one. I'd go to one any day, I've only watched a couple on tape because they were not playing and I needed to see them for whatever reason.

I think in some ways the Olympics are different, they are only every 4 years and the chance that the average person is going to get to see them is pretty slim. I guess, if I were going to watch, I would try to make it as special as possible. Invite friends over or go someplace that has a big screen. At least in that way you can be a part of an 'audience'. And also it is removed from 'everyday'.